A solutions-focused conversation about the state of education in America

NASA Invites Students to See Space

Well, kind of.

Receive the latest tech updates in your inbox

Schools and education programs have the chance to probe astronauts aboard the International Space Station.

Updated at 2:55 PM EDT on Wednesday, Apr 13, 2011

This year, D.C.-area students and educators will be given the chance to find out what it's like to live in space. No, Oprah isn't taking her viewers on an Ultimate Space Adventure.

NASA is inviting U.S. education organizations, such as local school districts, museums, and science centers, to apply for the the opportunity to speak to astronauts aboard the International Space Station via downlink.

Members of Expeditions 29 and 30 are set to participate in these 20-minute question-and-answer sessions from September to March 2012. Participants will be able to observe the crew live in space, but only the crew will have audio-connectivity.

NASA and the National Science Foundation's Teaching from Space (TFS) program will be hosting the event. TFS was established in 2007, with the goal of promoting STEM -- science, technology, engineering, and mathematics -- education. STEM education is an area over which lawmakers have raised concern in recent years, most notably President Obama in his 2011 State of the Union Address. It is the strength of STEM education that determines whether this generation capitalizes on its supposed "Sputnik moment," according to President Obama.

"Half a century ago, when the Soviets beat us into space...after investing in better research and education, we didn't just surpass the Soviets; we unleashed a wave of innovation that created new industries and millions of new jobs. This is our generation's Sputnik moment," he said in January.